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Saturday, August 18, 2012

Random Acts of Encouragement

We are finally home from our big trip to RI!! It was awesome, and I promise to share the deets, but not right yet. I left my camera there, for one thing, but I also have something else I feel the need to throw out first.

Yesterday we were on the first flight of the day, headed from Boston to Atlanta. Two adults, three kids, lots of anxiety wondering how it will go. Nick and Mera were sitting together on one side of the aisle. TJ, Geri and me were on the other side. TJ promptly fell asleep under the influence of Dramamine. Geri sat on my lap while I watched the movie (Avengers) and Mera was in Nick's lap, hanging out. We weren't doing anything special, nothing interesting. For a little bit, Geri slept in my arms.

Towards the end of the flight, a woman sitting in front of us passed me a note. It said "I've had a really hard day, and a really rough time recently. Watching your kids has cheered me up a lot. I wanted to let you know that your kids are very sweet and you are obviously great caregivers to them. Thank you for putting a smile back on my face. Sincerely, Seat 30A."

It's such a blessing to be doing nothing special and have someone compliment you, isn't it? Sort of like when your hair is a mess and you have no makeup on and your husband tells you how pretty you are. There's such vast encouragement in being praised for just being as you are.

We spend so much time pulling each other down, perhaps we should put more effort into encouraging each other and lifting each other up. Here's my challenge to you. The next time you see a family out in public, tell the parents something nice about their kids. Tell them what a great job they are doing. Encourage them. Lift them up. And, if you are of the Christian bent, take it one step further by praying for them. Maybe with them, maybe later in your private time.